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For my dissertation, I tested whether pollen diet impacts parasite infection in bees by altering the immune system and gut microbiome. Pollen from sunflowers and goldenrod (Family: Asteraceae) reduces a detrimental gut pathogen in bumble bees (Giacomini et al. 2018, LoCascio et al. 2019). In collaboration with the Sadd Lab, I investigated how a sunflower pollen diet impacts the bumble bee immune system as a potential mechanism of the reduced infection. We found that consuming sunflower pollen did not significantly affect activity of the immune enzyme phenoloxidase or hemolymph antibacterial activity. You can read more in Fowler et al., 2022, Philosophical Transactions B.